Role model for Belinda Bencic: Swiss mothers have already won Olympic gold and World Cup titles

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“Are they going to take my mother away from me now?” Dominic asked worriedly when his mother Brigitte McMahon became an Olympic champion.
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Daniel LeuDeputy Sports Director

Natascha Badmann (56)

As a child she was very overweight and at the age of 17 she became a mother. In 1989, the triathlete changed her life radically and became a top athlete: Badmann won the Ironman Hawaii six times.

Brigitte McMahon (56)

She was the first Swiss mother to become an Olympic champion. In 2000 she won triathlon gold. Her first son Dominic was 3 years old at the time. As his mother rushed from appointment to appointment after the triumph, he asked worriedly, “Are they going to take my mother away from me now?”

Karin Roten (47)

“I underestimated it,” Roten admitted after retiring as a ski racer in 2001. She previously made her comeback after the birth of Jonathan and spent a season on the ski circuit with the baby.

Maya Pedersen-Bieri (50)

“I am away from my two-year-old daughter Miriam so often. That’s why I want to hug her again as soon as possible,” Pedersen-Bieri said after her Olympic gold in skeleton in 2006, adding: “And now we are thinking about a second child.” Her second daughter was born in 2008 and she resigned in 2010.

Simone Niggli-Luder (45)

The orienteer won 9 of her 23 world titles as a mother. Like at the 2010 World Cup, when she stood on the podium with Malin. “That was fantastic and something very special.” It proved that as a mother you can also be a top athlete. “But without the support of my husband and family, this would not have been possible. You have to be flexible yourself. For example, if a child gets sick, you have to adjust the training times.”

Nicola Spirig (41)

No one knows this subject better than the triathlete. In 2012 she became Olympic champion in London. Son Yannis was born in 2013. In 2016 she won Olympic silver. In 2017 she became a mother for the second time (daughter Malea). In 2018 she won her 6th European title. And in April 2019, the third child (son Alexis) arrived. She retired from top sport in 2022.

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Selina Gasparine (39)

The 2014 Olympic silver medalist became a mother twice during her biathlete career. She explained a few years ago that it is no longer unusual to practice top sports despite having children. “It has been found that it is possible to return to the top level after pregnancy. This led to a change in mentality. In other professions it has long been the case that mothers quickly return to work after pregnancy. In sports it took a little longer.”

Amélie Wenger-Reymond (36)

The most successful telemark athlete of all time became a mother twice during her impressive career. Both times she returned after a break.

Caroline Steffen (45)

“I’m not in a financial situation where I never have to work again – and triathlon is my job. “I have to get the money for the diapers somehow,” Steffen once explained. This is also why she made a comeback after the birth of her son Xaver in 2017.

Judith Wyder (35)

Just five months after the birth of her first daughter Linn, the orienteer became a two-time European champion in 2018. Three months later she also won World Cup gold with the relay. Still, she stopped after that. “As an orienteer you travel abroad for months. For me as a mother, that is no longer an option.”

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Rahel and Eveline Rebsamen (29)

The Bob twins both had a child in 2020. Then they tried bobsledding again. But they have since resigned.

Source : Blick

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Emma

Emma

I'm Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.

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